Sugar Dust (4 page)

Dan tangled his hands in his hair. “I’m under a bit of pressure right now.”

“Whatever. Let’s sort out this bloody cage.”

“Please hurry.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Pete trudged inside.

Dan followed and positioned his chair to block the way out. He noticed a fresh trail of blood across the floor tiles and glanced at his mother who was scrubbing at the tabletop with a sponge. “Your tea is getting cold.”

She moved to the counter beside the sink and kept wiping. “Does she
ever
clean?”

“Mum, please.”

“I’m just asking.”

“This is
my
house,” he snapped, patience beaten so thin he could poke holes through it. “When I can be bothered, I clean. I cook. Karen spends her time here
with
me, not clucking like a mother hen.”

“She’s here often?”

“Every day.”

“Oh.” Maxine stopped cleaning long enough to wrinkle her nose. “What’s her house like?”

“She shares an apartment with a friend.”

“An apartment? Oh dear.”

“You used to live in one.”

“Before I got my break on
Home with Mr. Barclay
.” Her chin tilted as she said it. “Then I moved straight into a nice clean semi. Caroline’s old enough to own her own place. Why share?”

Dan flexed his fingers and whispered Karen’s name in his head as if to secure his own memory of it. “Does it matter?”

“I’m curious.”

“She had to finance the PhD herself. Rent is cheaper than a mortgage.” As Dan lied, he realized he had no idea why Karen still shared with Cindy. But he did know the idea of discussing Karen’s living arrangements made him want to crawl into a deep hole and never climb out.

“That’s something. But is she moving in with you?”

He hesitated, weighing out the projected satisfaction of lying against the ease of simply telling the truth. He opted for the latter. “We don’t have any plans for that.”

The smug, knowing smile on Maxine’s lips made him want to change his answer.

“Here, my boy,” Julian nudged his shoulder with a steaming mug.

Dan took it and gratefully slurped from the rim.

“Darling, have you fixed the garden yet?”

“Give him a break, woman.” Julian actually raised his voice, a rare and frightening occurrence. Even Maxine glanced at him.

“It’s just a question. What’s wrong with you two today?”

Dan rubbed his forehead. “I wanted to do the house first. The garden can wait.”

“Do you still have that ghastly pond?”

“I filled it in.”

“Good. Can I at least see that?”

Sighing, Dan put his tea down and reopened the back door. He ushered his mother through then followed. Julian joined them.

Maxine marched to the bottom of the garden and stopped at the edge of a patch of freshly turned earth. “Even without flowers it’s much nicer like this.”

Dan shrugged.

“And now you have space for a vegetable patch. Organic food is good for you.”

“Mum...”

“I read an article last week about all the chemicals in our food. Terrible. It’s a wonder any of us are still alive.”

He nodded.

“I forgot my tea. One moment, darling.” Maxine pranced back to the house.

Dan put his head in his hands. He gave a wordless groan.

Julian patted his back. “Deep breaths, my boy.”

“Why can’t she just be normal?”

The older man smiled. “You never did understand, that
is
normal for your mother.”

“Every time she speaks, I feel like I’m going through a wringer.”

“Try living with her.” He grinned. “It does look better, by the way. The pond was too much work for a busy man like you. And you don’t need a veggie garden.”

“I only said it to shut her up.”

“I thought so. As if you have time with this girlfriend of yours.”

“Don’t you start, too.”

Julian’s eyes twinkled. “What? I think she’s lovely; intelligent clearly, dedicated obviously. It sounds like you struck gold.”

Dan gave his first real smile in hours. “Thanks, Dad. Convince Mum, will you?”

“I’ll try. Where is she?”

“Tea, she said.”

“What’s taking so long?”

Dan looked at the house. He frowned and peered through the window into the empty kitchen. Cold knots filled his stomach. He closed his eyes. “She’s not there. I think she’s in my bedroom.”

Chapter Five

Karen clutched the bars of the cage. The blanket slipped off her shoulders but she made no move to pull it up, staring instead at the closed door while her knuckles paled. Beyond it, she heard Dan beg his mother to join him downstairs, diverting her with some nonsense about toilet paper.

“Be sure that you do,” Maxine’s high, nasal tones floated through the door. “While I know that girl must be a financial drain you can at least buy decent toilet paper.”

Karen slammed her fist against the cage bars. “Screw you, Maxine.”

Their footsteps retreated on the stairs. She had no idea what Dan’s response might have been, but she knew enough not to hope for much.

“Bitch.”

Again she hit and kicked the cage bars. Silence followed and through it Karen could hear the thunderous pound of blood in her ears. She sank back onto her knees and stared at the door, half sorry that the chance to vent her frustrations had been snatched away by Dan’s timely intervention. She leaned back and kicked the bars again, over and over, each kick timed to land in concert with her passionate grunts of fury. The noisy assault continued until Pete returned holding a screwdriver. She kicked the cage again.

“Hey, calm down.”

“Are you serious?” she snapped.

“They’ll hear you.”

“I couldn’t give a shit. Did you hear her? Bitch! She’s worse than before. I hate her so much.”

“I know, but—”

“You know how it feels to have someone look down on you because you don’t fit their idea of what’s good enough?”

“No, but—”

“No. So shut up and get me out of here.”

Pete gazed at his shoes. “I found a screwdriver.” When she didn’t answer, he set to work on the screws. Pete released all the screws on the first hinge, despite his injured finger then began the next. Eventually the front panel clanged forward and dangled from its bolt and padlock.

Karen grinned and eased through the gap. “Thank God.” Her spine creaked as she straightened it and lifted her arms above her head for the first time in hours.

“You’re welcome.” He tossed the screwdriver onto the bed.

“Sorry, Pete. I didn’t mean to snap. It’s been a rough day. You did great.” Her smile faded when she followed his gaze down. She snagged the blanket from within the cage and wrapped it tight around her once more. “You can go now.”

He turned to the door and looked back. Though he refused to meet her gaze the crimson flush to his cheeks was easy to see. “This ‘playing’ you do...does it involve friends?”

“Get out!” she shrieked.

He fled.

Karen considered the merits of hiding beneath the bed and never coming out, but the thought of Maxine’s smug smile and haughty stare convinced her not to. Instead she snatched up the screwdriver and attacked the other sides of the cage. Pete made the job look easy, but sweat beaded on her back and forehead. More than once the tool slipped on the reluctant screws and only sharp reflexes saved her fingers from similar damage.

Several minutes later, the cage lay in six pieces that she stacked and shoved under the bed. The door creaked open just as she smoothed the duvet back into place.

“Oh, you
are
here.” The snide inflection in that posh voice made her gut clench.

She whirled round and glared. “Maxine.”

“Nice to see you, Carol.”

“Karen.” Her molars gnashed together.

“Of course.” Maxine shoved the door open and entered the room. She spared Karen only a glance before inspecting the walls and carpet. “It looks very nice. He could have had more color though.”

“We like blue.”

“We?” Surprise temporarily broke through Maxine’s veneer of disdain. “This is Daniel’s house.”

Karen hesitated, tugging the edges of the blanket. Yes, it was Dan’s house, despite all the time they spent together in it. The decorating. The furniture. The sex. It was still
his
house.

She tucked the corners of the blanket beneath her armpits and tilted her chin. “He asked me to help. We decided together.”

“Does that happen often?”

“Yes,” she said, earlier hesitation vanished. The unhappy twist to Maxine’s mouth gave her an absurd rush of pleasure. “Is that all? I need to get dressed.”

“You keep clothes here?”

“Of course.” Another wicked spike of pleasure surged through Karen when she saw the tightening of Maxine’s lips. “I wake here most mornings so I keep some in those drawers.”

Maxine sniffed, as if something unpleasant had crawled up her nose. “Daniel does enjoy company.” She arched an eyebrow. “Last week he told me about a pretty woman he met at work. Sandra, I think he really likes her.” Though coy in her body language, the nonchalance of her tone didn’t fit the grim smile on her face.

“Yes, I know Sandra, she’s lovely. So is her girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” Maxine’s voice rose several octaves. Her eyebrows shot up her forehead to hide beneath her fringe.

“He didn’t tell you she’s gay? And married?” Karen didn’t bother hiding her smirk. “It must have slipped his mind.”

With visible effort, Maxine gathered herself for the next attack. Karen waited with her tongue wedged between her teeth.

“Sorry to disturb your day in bed. Sleeping off last night’s drunken revelry?”

Karen opened her mouth then snapped it shut again. No matter how she felt, she knew that to blurt out the truth would only make matters worse. Even her own, liberal parents knew nothing of her unconventional relationship with the man eleven years her senior.

She settled for a half-truth. “Dan and I were in bed when you called. I thought I’d take advantage of the half hour catnap. I know he would have preferred to rest too, but he’s a charitable guy.” She turned to the dresser to hide her triumphant smile.

Pounding footsteps advanced up the stairs. Dan burst into the room. “I can explain!” he cried. A pause. “Oh.”

“Explain what, darling?”

Karen glanced over her shoulder, enjoying the flicker of confusion in Dan’s eyes.
That’s right,
she mused.
Sweat it out, you bastard.

“Nothing.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I mean, your tea is getting cold, Mum.”

“Oh, I completely forgot it, silly me.”

“Don’t worry, Maxine, the occasional
senior moment
is nothing to worry about.”

Dan gaped and slumped against the doorframe, hiding his face in his hands.

Karen ignored him and grinned at Maxine. “Do you need a hand down the stairs? If you don’t mind waiting I’ll come with you.”

“I’m fine.” Maxine tossed her head, gave one last glare, and stalked out.

Karen narrowed her eyes and watched Dan listen to her retreating steps. As soon as they were gone she unleashed her anger on him. “If you ever do that to me again—”

“Did you have to be so mean?”

“Mean?” A gasp caught in her throat. She stared at him. “
Me
, mean? You didn’t hear her earlier. Dan, she’s vile.”

“She’s my mother.”

“And
I’m
your slave. Doesn’t that count for anything?”

He glanced over his shoulder. “Keep your voice down.”

“No.” Karen sliced the air with her palm. Her blanket fell to the floor. Goosebumps raced across her skin, but fury chased the cold away. “You left me in that cage not knowing if Pete would come. You left me naked. You left me
hoping
that Pete would show up without telling him what to expect. How do you think that made me feel?”

“Probably great. You love being watched.”

“Not by your best friend! You should have seen the look he gave me.” The memory of it made her shudder. “I was a piece of meat he wanted to fuck.”

Dan shut the door behind him. “You’re exaggerating.”

“Am I? Dan, please understand, when we do this, I do it for
you
. I’m caged and serving you, but you didn’t check with me, you didn’t give me a choice. There was no safe word. We weren’t in scene.” She rubbed her arms. Her skin prickled with the memory of Pete’s gaze on her body. “It was just me, naked in a cage and he looked at me like I was a star from Channel XXX. I’ll never be able to look at him again.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“How would you know? Have you been locked up in any cages in front of my sex-starved friends, recently?”

He pressed his lips together. A flicker of sadness passed through his eyes, but it vanished so quickly Karen convinced herself that she’d made it up. His hand stretched out.

She stumbled back. “Don’t. Please. You can’t touch me right now.”

The hand dropped out of range “I panicked.” His voice trembled. “I couldn’t think. Mum was coming and I just didn’t want—I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“Good.”

“Will you come down now?”

She imagined Maxine downstairs, making herself comfortable on the sofa suite picked in Karen’s favorite colors, sipping tea Karen chose. She jerked her head. “No chance.”

“But they came to see
us.
”

Karen returned to pulling drawers open. “They came to see
you.
And I’m not speaking to that woman until you at least admit what she’s doing.”

“She’s not doing anything.”

She bunched her hands into fists as that familiar urge to scream returned. How could he say that? How could he not see?

He stood so close, that unruly tumble of hair dangling into his face again. He jerked it away with a toss of his head, a gesture so familiar that her resolve almost softened. He always did that, right before spanking her or ordering her to her knees. Karen watched his eyes, waiting for him to recognize how ridiculous he sounded, but he didn’t. He never did—not where Maxine was concerned.

“I’m staying here,” she told him, turning away so he wouldn’t see her face.

While tugging on a red bra and panties, Karen felt Dan’s eyes on her back. She ignored him, pulling a vest from a lower drawer and squirming into it. By the time she’d found a pair of comfortable jogging pants, Dan had left, his exit marked by a gentle click from the door.